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Season 36 (Doctor Who)
'''Season 36 '''aired between 5th of June 1999 and 8th of January 2000. It was the second season to be produced by Chris Sanderman, script edited by Steven Moffat and to feature Jennifer Lien as Sammy Thompson, as well as the fourth season starring Paul McGann as The Doctor. Overview This season consisted of eight stories, each containing 4 30-minute episodes. It was later assigned to Chapter Two Part Three. This is the first season to be co-produced by Paramount Pictures. Co-productions were very popular at the time, so BBC has decided to give this method a try, as they were unsure if they can provide as high budget as the show needed those days alone. At this point, Paramount didn't have any creative control on the production yet, their role was limited to sponsoring the show and distribution of it in America for the financial profits in return. However, they've put far more effort into it than BBC demanded, remastering all previous DW episodes, reconstructing the missing ones with animation and kicking off heavily advertised Doctor Who Journey marathon, which included all episodes of the show and multiplied the number of Whovians in America, bringing it nearly to the level of Star Trek. That convinced BBC not only to continue the co-production, but to give Paramount some creative control over time as well. The Rogue, renegade Time Lord known for causing chaos just to spite the Doctor, debutes in this season, played by Derek Jacobi. As the time goes on, he became one of the most important characters in the Whoniverse. The season also featured the debute of Mitahi, the return of Sylvester McCoy as Seventh Doctor, Julia Sawalha as Katie Tollinger, who was brought back from the dead (on the behind-the-scenes request from Stephen Garwood), The War Chief, The Rani, Gallifrey and The Daleks. The font in title sequence (Grammara Normal) was recoloured from blue to white, following the audience's feedback. Cast Regular * The Doctor - Paul McGann * Sammy Thompson - Jennifer Lien Recurring *The Rogue - Derek Jacobi *The Rani - Kate O'Mara *Katie Tollinger - Julia Sawalha *The War Chief - Laurence Tomlinson *Lord President Flavia - Makila Ghansa *Mitahi Leader - Frances Brogm Guest *The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy *Obioduis - Morgan Freeman *Dobson / Voice of The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs *Computer Voice - Elisabeth Sladen Television Stories Reception This season is an interesting case. Currently, it is remembered as 'as dull as the rest of Sanderman era'. More specifically, Seasons 35-38 have a reputation of 'dull' as a whole, as they are hardly ever discussed separately. However, if you look at the reception of Season 36 stories individually, the lowest rated of them, Guilty as Charged, is actually considered 'OK'. Other ones are recognized as 'great' (Never Mind the Rogue, Exodus, The Lazarus Project), 'good' (From a Thing Done Afterward, The Plague of the Daleks) or 'far better than expected' (Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Looking into the Eye). Random fan asked about this series back in 2000 would have probably described it as 'really, really good, however I'm not a fan of Sammy...'. However, later critical failures of the stories such as Never Eat Shredded Wheat, The Name's Shakespeare, William Shakespeare and The Societal Step tarnished the reputation of Chris Sanderman and Steven Moffat, retroactively spoiling the opinion about their DW work. Unlike Season 39, Season 36 didn't have traits that would make it stand out from the rest of Sanderman era (different script editor, different Doctor, different companion), which lead to the bad press of the producer, script editor and the character of Sammy Thompson eventually overshadowing its strengths and putting it in line with seasons 35, 37 and 38 as 'the second dark age of Doctor Who' (after JN-T era). Home Media VHS *Never Mind the Rogue (1999) *Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust (1999) *Exodus (1999) *From a Thing Done Afterward (1999) *The Plague of the Daleks (1999) *Guilty as Charged (1999) *Looking into the Eye (2000) *The Lazarus Project (2000) DVD *This season released as the Complete Season 36 Box Set in July 2003. *The season, along with all other Ninth Doctor stories was included in the Complete Paul McGann Era Box Set. Category:Doctor Who seasons